Quick Hits

Parents want threatening teacher transferred: About 100 people filled the cafeteria last night at Wilt Elementary School where parents voiced concerns about a fourth-grade teacher who had been allowed to return to the classroom after threatening the school's principal during a counseling session. (C-J)

Koenig’s bill is unfair to good parents: We believe it’s extremely important that parents take an active role in their children’s school years, but it would be excessive to fine them for missing parent-teacher conferences.State Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, has introduced a bill that proposes parents who don’t make it to at least one conference would be fined $50 for their first absence, with fines increasing up to $200 for each subsequent absence.We believe that Koenig’s intentions are in the right place and that he is sincere when he says he is trying to stress the importance of parental involvement, but this isn’t the right approach. (Daily News)

Time to revise school discipline: ...Though I’m no expert on education, I couldn’t help being intrigued to read about the high school principal in Kentucky who was suspended for allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old student.... from the viewpoint of being a former 15-year-old class clown and all around wisenheimer, school discipline, yes paddling, should be brought back to schools, but with conditions — such as witnesses to the paddling and parental notification. (Casey County News)

Memphis schools to teach nonviolence to staff, students: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s ideals of nonviolence are being used in an effort to reduce violence at Memphis, Tenn., schools. Some 50,000 students and staff will receive training in the principles over the next year. (The Commercial Appeal)

Bill would oust members of failing school boards: Georgia's governor would able , under a bill approved Wednesday in the state Senate. Gov. Sonny Perdue is pushing the measure that would allow him to oust school board officials in failing districts, in the wake of the crisis in Clayton County, which had its accreditation yanked in September by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The district has been beset by infighting and ethics troubles. Just this week, police escorted a Clayton County school board member from board meeting after the school system's ethics commission decided he shouldn't serve on the panel. (Macon.com)

Educators: Stand-up desks may improve attention, reduce obesity: Student desks that allow pupils to stand, sit or fidget to their hearts' content seem to improve student concentration and reduce obesity, say educators who use them. Now two studies are examining whether the desks really do improve students' academics or fitness. "I think we're so used to the traditional classroom it's taken a while for people to start thinking outside the box," said University of Minnesota kinesiologist Beth A. Lewis. "I think it's just a matter of breaking the mold." (The New York Times)

ACLU: Too many disadvantaged Miss. teens sent to alternative schools: Over the past four years, the number of Mississippi students -- including disproportionately high numbers of black students and students with special needs -- sent to alternative schools has risen about 23%, according to a new American Civil Liberties Union report. The report claims schools are too punitive and do too little to improve the students' behavior or academics. (The Jackson, Miss, Clarion-Ledger .)

Technology opens doors for collaborative learning: Blogs and wikis can help teachers work collaboratively even with those outside of their own school or district, writes sixth-grade teacher Bill Ferriter, who writes a blog and is a senior fellow in the Teacher Leaders Network. He offers tips to help educators get started and make the most of this professional-learning opportunity. (Educational Leadership)

Study: Teachers, curricula help public schools outscore private peers: Certified math teachers with ongoing professional development and more modern curricula help public-school students do better than their private-school counterparts in math, according to a new study. "Schools that hired more certified teachers and had a curriculum that de-emphasized learning by rote tended to do better on standardized math tests," said University of Illinois education professor Sarah Lubienski, a study co-author. "And public schools had more of both." (ScienceDaily)

Facebook may promote communication between teens, parents: Facebook's membership of adults ages 35 to 54 has almost quadrupled since June 2008, according to iStrategyLabs, a digital marketing agency. Counting their parents and grandparents among their Facebook friends may be prompting teens to be more cautious about what they post online and may be improving intergenerational communication, some say. (The Sacramento Bee)